Therapy Associates was started several years ago and is, now, the very group who has formed this private, non-profit organization. The group includes several therapists who have provided services to hundreds, if not thousands, of families in this and the surrounding communities for many years. It has become acutely clear that there are many members of our community that are unable to access services necessary to allow their family to be safe and constructive and to become healthy and productive. The crisis has been made worse by the recent closure of our only private inpatient psychiatric hospital, the recent severe budget cuts experienced by Shasta County Mental Health, the loss of almost all private psychiatric services, severe cuts in our educational programs, the loss of the County's inpatient program, and rising costs for human services.

Based on our successful private agency model, we have developed a private, non-profit organization, the Association for Counseling, Education & Support, Inc. (A.C.E.S.) that will provide much needed services to the families in this and the surrounding communities in our area. We propose to develop a broad-based, comprehensive range of services under one roof that will be available to people regardless of their ability to pay, and which will attempt to accommodate for any other barriers that may have previously prevented them from accessing services.